Joseph Melvin Kreines

Joe could be described as music personified - almost everything he did in life was in pursuit of raising musical standards and spreading awareness of "good" music (symphonic literature) in the world. His home was a musical shrine, with thousands of scores and tens of thousands of recordings (he would honor a composer's birthday by listening to their music all day). His legacy lies in multiple arenas: the thousands of musical educators that have learned from him and passed on knowledge and love of music to the next generation, the performers that he inspired having played under his baton, and the hundreds of transcriptions and compositions that he has written that are played around Florida, the US, and the world. He came to Florida in the 60's (I think it was 1964) and began as a clinician at Winter Park High School, working with their band and orchestra, as well as the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra. As word spread about this energetic conductor that had a knack for making ensembles sound better, he spent the next 50 years visiting a majority of the middle and high school band programs around Florida. He would hang out at Solo & Ensemble festivals with a shirt pocket full of checks and cash - he wanted to be available for any student whose accompanist did not show up, to sight-read their solo accompaniments so that they can be adjudicated. He would always say, "I might not hit every note, but I will stay with you and be musical. Just pay me whatever, or not." I have so many stories about Joe, but was hoping to keep this brief. It was difficult seeing him these last couple of years, and am glad that he is finally at peace. Joe, you were a rare gem in our musical community, and will be missed by so many.